Last year, my culinary essay “A Mother’s Hands” was selected by BlogHer, which is a community of women bloggers that reaches 100 million women each month. My essay was published in BlogHer’s 2013 anthology entitled “ROOTS: Where Food Comes from & Where It Takes Us.”  The e-book is described as “a love story about food” and “a collection of great writing, thinking and photography about the roots of specific meals, the memories that food triggers, what is preserved about a culture in its recipes, how food and cooking are tied to travels, as well as the roots we call home.” In my essay, “A Mother’s Hands” I describe the generations of women in my South Indian family who nurtured and comforted their families through the thoughtful preparation of food in their home kitchens. For me, there is nothing quite like homemade whole wheat chapatis, piping hot from my mom’s cast iron pan.

Here is an excerpt from my essay:

“I have indelible memories of watching my aunts and great aunts in India sitting on the cool clay floors of their kitchens mixing, rolling, and kneading in just the same way. Attired in colorful saris, barefoot, with their long black hair tied up tightly, they gently blended silky flour, a sprinkling of spices, and drops of oil with the tips of their fingers into soft little mounds, pressing them expertly into flat round moons, and then onto a hot cast iron skillet. The hiss of the pan, the quick flip of the spatula, a smooth coating of glistening ghee, the chapatis would hit our plates while they were still piping hot. As in most homes in India, the children and men always ate first; the women of the house always dined last, after everyone else had pushed back from the table, contented, our tummies full of warm flatbreads, rice, stewed lentils, curried vegetables, yogurt, and pickled mango.”

From my family to yours, here is our timeless recipe.

Homemade Whole Wheat Chapatis

Ingredients

• 2 cups whole wheat flour
• 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons canola oil
• 1.5 teaspoons plain yogurt
• 1 cup warm water

Preparation

1. Place flour into a wide bowl and create a well in the middle with your hand.
2. Add salt, oil, and yogurt to the flour and mix to combine by hand.
3. Add 1/2 cup of warm water and continue combining by hand. Add a little more warm water (1/4 cup at a time) to moisten and achieve the right dough consistency (6-7 ounces of warm water total). When you touch the dough it shouldn’t be too soft or too tight – just right!
4. Cover with saran wrap and let rest in a warm place for 1.5 hours – the more time you have, the better.

After 1.5 hours

1. Remove saran wrap and place dough on counter or flat surface. Put some whole-wheat flour on a side plate for dusting. Knead the dough with both hands (no need to punch down because there is no yeast) for 2-3 minutes. Knead and roll.
2. Form a log with the dough. Take a knife score the dough into equal segments (around 4-5 segments in total). Take each piece of dough and roll it in your hand to form a soft ball. Gently flatten the ball and place it in a bowl and keep covered. Continue with remaining segments.
3. Lightly dip each ball in flour on both sides; place the piece of dough on the counter or a wooden board and roll quickly back and forth, turning as you go to create round smooth circle that is even across. Dip in flour again if necessary.
4. Heat a cast iron or non-stick frying pan over medium heat. When it is hot, sprinkle a few drops of water to steam. Place the chapati on the pan and cook it for 30-40 seconds until brown spots appear, then turn it over and brush with 1/4 teaspoon of oil or ghee. Cook for another 30-40 seconds until cooked through.
5. When the chapati is done, remove it from pan, spread little butter or ghee on it, and keep it covered. Repeat for remaining pieces of dough.

Tips & Tricks

• Yogurt. Adding yogurt in the flour mix is optional, but we love it
• Pitfalls for gluten-free rotis. You can’t add too much water; less water is better so that the dough isn’t too soft and you can’t roll it out
• Water. Always use warm water when mixing dough

Two cups of whole wheat flour

From top to bottom: oil, salt, yogurt

Create a well in the middle of the whole wheat flour with your hand…notice how my mother Geetha’s hands are similar to my grandmother Rajalakshmi’s hands in the photo above

Add salt (sprinkle), oil, and yogurt to flour

Mix to combine by hand

Add 1/2 cup of warm water

Continue combining by hand and add a little more warm water (1/4 cup at a time) to moisten

Mix by hand until you achieve the right dough consistency

When you achieve the right dough consistency, cover with saran wrap and let rest in a warm place for 1-5 hours

After one hour, knead the dough with both hands for 2-3 minutes

Form a log out of the dough — great pic of my mother Geetha’s hands at work!

Take a knife score the dough in equal segments (around 4-5 segments)

Take each piece and roll in your hand to form a soft ball. Gently flatten each ball and lightly dip the ball in flour on each side

Place the flattened ball on the counter or a wooden board and roll quickly back and forth, turning as you go

Heat a cast iron or non-stick frying pan over medium heat and place the chapati on the pan

Cook it for 30-40 seconds until brown spots appear, then turn it and brush with 1/4 spoon of oil or ghee. Cook for another 30-40 seconds until cooked through.

Voila! Your homemade chapati is done